


Safe Haven

by orphan_account



Category: The Resident (TV 2018)
Genre: Attack, Attempted Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Whump, conrad is so caring, poor Nic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:42:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21690058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Nic is on a date that goes very, very, wrong. She knows who to turn to. I explain all the medical aspects at the end of each chapter if you're interested! CW: non-graphic attempted sexual assault
Relationships: Conrad Hawkins/Nicolette Nevin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 54





	1. Date

**Author's Note:**

> Obvious content warning on this. Next chapter, I'll start with medical explanations but for now, let's dive right in!

“So, are you in or what?” Jessica inquired mischievously.

“I can’t tonight,” Nic replied to her proposition of a girls night out, “I already have plans.”

“What, you got a hot date or something?” Jessica joked.

Nic remained silent, biting her lip and raising her eyebrows.

“Oh my god!” Jessica exclaimed, “You _do_ have a hot date! Who is it? Tell me, tell me!”

“His name is Steven,” Nic admitted with a laugh, “He’s a friend of a friend. I think it’s time to get back out there, you know?”

They were interrupted by the sound of Conrad clearing his throat.

“Your patient in 38 has a question about his med changes,” He told Nic blankly before walking off, down the hall. Jessica and Nic shared awkward glances.

“Yikes,” Nic mouthed to Jessica before heading to room 38.

Conrad knew that his relationship with Nic was over, but hearing her talk about moving on hit him in a way he didn’t expect. It made it too real.

That night, Nic stood outside the restaurant in a cute blue dress. Nothing fancy, because it was just a casual place. She saw a man scanning the area and stepped forward with a small wave to get his attention. He made eye contact and smiled, making his way over to her.

“Steven?” Nic assumed.

“Nicolette,” He replied, “Wow, you’re even more beautiful in person.” She just laughed in response. “Well,” he continued, gesturing to the door of the restaurant, “Shall we?” Nic smiled as he opened the door for her and they proceeded inside.

The date went okay. Maybe it was just because Nic had been taken for so long, but the whole date kind of bored her. They really didn’t have much in common and Steven seemed more interested in Nic’s appearance than anything else about her. _Maybe this is what all men like,_ she thought to herself with a small sigh, _Maybe Conrad was an exception_. She ended up drinking more than she had originally planned. She was four drinks into her attempt to numb the dating discomfort when she realized she had surpassed tipsy.

“It’s late, I’d better get going,” Nic announced during a lull in conversation as she started to gather her things. She was unstable on her feet.

“Whoa, I don’t think you can drive like that,” Steven replied as he steadied her, “Why don’t I drive and you can come over to my place.”

“Oh that’s okay,” Nic politely declined as she began to walk towards the exit, “I’m going to get an uber.”

Steven followed her closely outside, only making Nic more uncomfortable.

“Well I can drive you home,” He offered.

“No really, it’s fine, I already sent the request,” She denied, gesturing at her phone screen.

There was a gap between the buildings and he gently led her around the corner, into the alley. Steven gripped her and started to kiss her.

The hands he placed on her waist began to wander and Nic put her hands over his, trying to still them—but Steven didn’t seem to catch on. She didn’t reciprocate his kiss, hoping that he would realize and take her signal to stop as well. He didn’t. She lightly tried to push him away, but then had to use a bit more force to get his lips to separate from hers.

“Steven,” She started.

“Whaaat?” He replied coyly. “Come on,” He said, leaning back in.

“No,” She said quickly, putting her hands up, “Look, I’m sorry, but this--this isn’t going to work out.”

“Oh come on, Nic. Let’s just have some fun!” Steven leaned in again, but Nic stepped away.

“What, you think because you went on a date with me I have to have sex with you or something?” She scoffed in disgust.

Steven’s eyes darkened and Nic suddenly regretted what she had said. He began to approach her with his sinister intentions now clear.

“Something like that,” He said lowly.

Nic thought about making a run for it but he suddenly lunged and grabbed her, one hand on her waist and the other around her wrist. He shoved her back against the wall hard and started to kiss her again. She let out a muffled cry as she felt a snap of pain in her ribs and her arm.

Nic felt Steven starting to lift up her dress and knew she needed to act. She tried to tear herself out of his grip but got nowhere, just ripping open the side of her dress. She realized she couldn’t fight him with only one free hand, so Nic picked up her foot and stomped her shoe’s pointed heel as hard as she could into Steven’s toes. He gasped and let go of her.

“You stupid bitch,” he sneered, winding up and landing a punch right on Nic’s cheek.

Nic had never been punched before. She had wondered what it was like, but never imagined it would feel like the impact of a car, the metal of its hood crumpling against her skull. She fell to the pavement as Steven limped away.

Silence surrounded her and she tried to breathe, a gasp filling her lungs. The gasps kept coming until she finally held one long enough to exhale. Tears started flowing hard but she felt unable to make a sound in the dark alley. The gravel uncomfortably sunk its teeth into her skin.

She tried to adjust her torn dress but she was met with a screeching pain in her arm and her curse of silence ended as she cried out in pain. Giving up on fixing the fabric, she placed her uninjured, shaking hand against the cement and started to drag herself off of the ground.

She gave herself a moment to steady against the wall, then walked back out to the street. She searched through her bag, pulling out her phone. She canceled the uber and started walking down the crowded street, constantly on alert, paranoid that Steven could be lurking.

She didn’t want to go home.

But she knew where she could go.


	2. Finding Refuge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All medical terminology defined at the end, as always. Enjoy the medical accuracy!

In a matter of minutes, Nic had made it to the apartment and uncoordinatedly entered the lobby.

She caught her reflection in a mirror. Her adrenaline was still running too high to feel anything at all, but she stood and took in her reflection. For just a moment, she truly wondered who it was looking back at her. Her dress was torn, one of the side seams ripped far enough to reveal her aching ribs if pulled open. Her eye was already becoming purple and her right arm was swelling and numb. Her hair was in a messy knot.

Nic stared at herself silently. How did this happen? How was she stupid enough to put herself in that situation? She should have been more insistent on leaving, or tried to get away sooner. God, it was all her fault.

There was no elevator, so she had no choice but to take the stairs. Breathing felt like such a chore and making it up the two flights of stairs took a full ten minutes.

Nic arrived at his door: apartment number 305. She drew up her good arm to knock on the door, but hesitated. Her stomach dropped as she imagined what would unfold once the door in front of her opened. Tears immediately collected in her eyes, fearing that she would be judged, but also desperately needing some sort of safe haven. Part of her wanted to run, but a greater part of her was too scared to leave. Finally, she knocked.

Conrad had sat down on his couch, about to turn on the tv, when he heard a soft knock on his door. He glanced down at his watch, wondering why anyone would be at his door at 11 o’clock at night. Something was off. He got up to investigate.

He approached the door and placed his eye to the peephole. The figure was skewed through the glass, but he realized it was Nic—and that something was wrong. He unlocked the pin and deadbolt of his door as quickly as he could manage and pulled the door open to reveal Nic. He glossed over her bruised face and tattered clothing in utter disbelief.

“Oh my god, Nic,” he breathed. Who did this to her? He’ll kill whoever did this, with his own two hands.

“Conrad,” She tried, barely squeaking out the word. She finally started to let tears pour out of her eyes at the sight of Conrad. She was ashamed to appear on his doorstep like this, but she also felt a bit of relief. He was safety. Her body suddenly felt weak and Conrad immediately noticed.

“Come here,” He stepped forward and slid a hand gently behind her shoulder to guide her inside.

She flinched at his touch, jumping away with a small cry. Images of Steven flipped through her mind. She withdrew into herself, shrinking away from his invisible hands. As quickly as the images came, they flickered away and she was again faced with Conrad who was standing with his hands up.

Conrad was shocked. He knew every inch of Nic’s body, studied it like a book, and suddenly she was afraid of him.

“S-sorry,” Nic blurted, embarrassment rushing through her.

“No, no, it’s--it’s okay,” he quickly reassured her. He decided to give her the option instead: “Do you want to come inside?”

Nic just nodded in reply, walking in as Conrad held the door. He followed behind her. Nic focused on getting to the couch, but felt her vision fading as she wavered a bit.

“Con-“ She started, becoming visibly unsteady. He didn’t want to scare her with his touch, but he didn’t want her to fall. He spotted her closely at her side.

“Nic?” He asked lowly.

Sure enough, she started to drop and he instantly grabbed hold of her.

“Alright, I got you,” he reassured with a strained voice as he lowered her onto the carpet. He laid her down, kneeling next to her. He placed his fingers to her neck, relieved to find a strong pulse and saw her chest rising.

“Nic?” He called, quickly grabbing his cellphone from his pocket, “Nic, can you hear me?”

Her eyes focused on the blond haired, brown eyed, concerned face above her. She saw the phone in his hand and knew he was about to call 911. She squeaked a small sound of distress and shook her head adamantly as she looked at his phone.

“Nic, you need to get checked out,” He started to explain.

“Please,” she pleaded slowly, the fear blazing in her eyes, “Don’t.”

He hesitated for a moment and then nodded, putting his phone down. She reached for his hand, something to hold onto. He took it firmly.

“I’m right here Nic,” he spoke evenly.

“He hurt me,” she said bluntly.

“Who hurt you Nic?” Conrad inquired calmly.

“Steven, m-my date,” She replied, “I tried to leave but he wouldn’t stop touching me. I told him to stop but he wouldn’t, he wouldn’t stop.” She reported with the pitch of her voice rising.

Conrad wanted to throw up as he realized what Steven had done. Rage boiled under his skin.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Nic’s small gasp. Getting upset had jarred her injured body and she shifted on the floor as wave of pain flowed from her head, pouring down her body. He pushed aside his anger and quickly refocused to her physical injuries.

“Shhh, it’s okay Nic,” Conrad soothed, “You’re safe, I got you.” He noted the bruising around her eye and the way she was cradling her left arm. “Is it okay if I check you over?” He asked her, not wanting to touch her without her consent. Nic nodded in response. “What hurts?” He asked, cautiously starting to examine down her body with his hands.

“My arm and my head,” She replied quickly. Conrad’s hands had moved to the side of her chest and as he made contact, she cried out, “and right there,” with a whimper.

“Okay, it’s okay,” He soothed before continuing with his assessment, “Can you take a deep breath?” Nic obeyed as best as she could. “What year is it?” Conrad inquired.

“2020,” Nic stated with confidence.

“Did you lose consciousness?” He asked and Nic shook her head, “Any neck pain?”

“No,” Nic shook her head again after he felt down the back of her neck.

He used his hands to adjust the light entering her eyes. “Pupils are equal and reactive,” He said aloud.

He cautiously started to examine her arm.

“Did you fall on your hand?” Conrad guessed.

“No, he,” Nic started quietly, shame filling her eyes as she looked away, “He had a really strong grip.”

Conrad paused as his heart broke a little. A familiar feeling of rage was again rising inside him. What kind of piece of shit could hurt Nic like this? Who had grabbed Nic so hard that her bones snapped under their fingertips? Conrad literally bit his tongue to keep calm.

“Can you move your fingers?” He asked. She wiggled her fingers. “Feel me touching you here?” He asked as he stroked her pinky.

She nods in response.

“Do you have any pain in your wrist down here?” Conrad asked as he gently touched the area.

“No, it’s more proximal,” She replied.

He gently pressed on just the wrong spot, earning a gasp from Nic.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized quietly.

“Doctors,” Nic murmured with a roll of her eyes. A sad smirk lifted a corner of Conrad’s lips.

“We need to get you to Chastain,” Conrad tells her.

“Conrad,” Nic complained, “You and I both know that this is just a concussion, an ulnar fracture, and some bruised ribs.”

“You just lost consciousness in my living room.”

“I did not,” she protested, “I just needed to sit down.”

“People don’t fall face-first onto the floor when they ‘just need to sit down’ Nic,” Conrad retorted, “You need x-rays and a CT.”

“Conrad, please, I,” Nic’s eyes suddenly welled with tears. Shame. Her voice became so small that Conrad almost missed it. “I don’t want anyone to know.”

“Nic, I want to tell you something,” He said softly. Nic looked at him expectantly. “I’m worried about you, but I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. You are in power now, okay? Whatever happened earlier—you’re in control now. You tell me what you need.”

Nic held his gaze, firmly grasping onto his sincerity. Those words were exactly what she needed to hear, not even knowing that she needed to hear them.

“Conrad, I need you. Just… here. For a second,” she replied softly, “and then we can go.”

“Okay, I’m here Nic,” Conrad smiled gently, readjusting to sit cross legged next to her, “I’m not going anywhere.”

 **But her adrenaline was still running too high to feel anything at all  
** During a stressful event (like being assaulted), your sympathetic nervous system pours lots of hormones into your body that are meant to be helpful in survival. One of these hormones is called norepinephrine and it can basically numb the pathways for pain. Most people attribute this numbing effect to “adrenaline” (which is actually a hormone called epinephrine), but adrenaline only enhances the effect of norepinephrine by increasing the ability to concentrate.

 **He placed his fingers to her neck, relieved to find a strong pulse and saw her chest rising.  
** The first thing you want to check on all of your patients is their “ABC’s” because they won’t survive long without them. **  
A** irway: Is there anything blocking it?  
 **B** reathing: feel for air and look at their chest—is it rising and falling?  
and **C** irculation: check their pulse—is it there and is there any life-threatening bleeding?  
These three components are always checked _and treated_ first because if one of them isn’t in working order… well, you won’t have a patient anymore!

 **“What hurts?” He asked, cautiously starting to examine down her body with his hands.**  
After any trauma, we do what’s known as a head-to-toe assessment. It’s literally touching (AKA palpating) and looking at each part of the patient’s body from head to toe, checking for abnormalities (bruising, bleeding, lack of sensation, bones out of place, etc.). Just because a patient isn’t complaining of an injury doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Our bodies hide pain when we’re under stress (remember that norepinephrine?!) and big injuries can be distracting, masking smaller ones. Like yeah, your bone sticking out of your leg might be all you can feel/think about, but the fact that you also lacerated your liver and are bleeding internally is way more important.

 **“Can you take a deep breath?” Nic obeyed as best as she could.**  
While helping your patient pace their breathing is helpful, that’s not what Conrad is doing here. It’s clear that Nic has injured her ribs, and Conrad wants to make sure her chest expands properly. Sometimes, when more than one rib is broken, that section of ribs can detach from the chest wall and become what’s known as a “flail segment.” The flail segment moves oppositely (AKA paradoxically) of the rest of the chest. When the patient inhales, the chest rises but the flail segment falls. When the patient exhales, the chest falls but the flail segment rises. That’s what Conrad is looking for as Nic takes a breath. Luckily, she doesn’t have that problem.

 **“What year is it?” Conrad inquired.**  
After any head injury, we want to know if the patient is thinking clearly. To evaluate how alert and oriented the patient is, we generally use four types of questions: person, place, time, and events. Conrad can assume she is oriented to _person_ because she calls him by name. He also knows she’s oriented to _place_ because she found his apartment. She also just told him what happened, so he knows she is oriented to _events_. The only question remaining is if Nic is oriented to _time_ , so Conrad asks her what year it is. Because Nic can answer all four questions, we would say that she is “alert and oriented times four” (or “A&O x4” for short).

 **He used his hands to adjust the light entering her eyes. “Pupils are equal and reactive,” He said aloud.**  
Usually, we use a penlight (basically a mini flashlight) to examine the patient’s eyes. However, if the room is bright and you don’t have a penlight, you can use your hand to place a shadow over the eyes of the patient for a similar effect. What exactly are we looking for when we check pupils? We want to know if the **P** upils are **E** qual, **R** ound, and **R** eactive to **L** ight, or PERRL (pronounced pearl) for short. The size, shape, and activity of the pupils can serve as indicators of what is happening in the brain. For instance, opioids make the pupils very small, so a patient with pinpoint pupils may be experiencing an opioid overdose. Another common example is when the pupils are uneven, which might be a sign of increased pressure inside the skull.

 **“Can you move your fingers?” He asked as he checked her nail beds. She wiggled her fingers. “Feel me touching you here?” He asked as he stroked her pinky.  
** Doctors probably have their own way of remembering this, but EMTs have a little acronym of things to check when examining an injured extremity: CMS.  
Circulation—is their enough blood flow to the extremity (check the color)  
Motor—Can they move the extremity  
Sensory—Do they have sensation in the extremity

 **“No, it’s more proximal,” She replied.  
** The word proximal is used to describe location on an extremity. It means it’s closer to the limb's connection to the torso (either the shoulder or the hip). So when Nic says it’s “more proximal,” she’s saying that the pain is further up her arm.

**Author's Note:**

> So, where do we think Nic is heading?! What do you think will happen?! Let me know in the comments <3


End file.
